Getting in shape for aBBall prop bet- log maybe

[ThaHero]

O.K. So just a little background. I used to be a pretty good athlete in high school. Played Varsity baseball, started all games, and we won our league championship. Went to college(CSUN) and when I couldn't walk onto the team I basically just became sedentary. Put on a lot of weight. I'm now 23. I am about 5'7" and weigh 196 lbs.

I've had this ongoing feud with my cousin. He talks trash to everyone for no reason, it's something psychological I assume. Anyway being the competitive guy I am I took up his challenge yesterday. It was a game of one-on-one. I had drank 4 beers up to this point but still decided to play. Needless to say, I lost, almost threw up, and felt really badly. He is about 5-10 and weighs 190lbs. He's really slow and uncoordinated, but plays basketball regularly.

So things escalated and we will be playing for monies on September 8th. So I have exactly 4 weeks to train. We are playing for $200, not a lot of money to some, but it is a nice amount to me and also the win is probably most important. Here's a run down on what I plan to do:

-I have an elliptical and may use that for the first week. My back hurts when I run alot, so this will help. Probably will do 30 minutes a day, at 15 min intervals.

-I don't have a gym membership, so no weights and squats. BBall is more finesse anyway, so I don't need to bulk up. Also I'm already stronger than him and quicker, I just need to improve my cardio and shed a few pounds. I will be doing push ups and crunches. Any other good excersises I can do with a few dumbbells would be great.

-I'm gonna stretch everyday. I used to do this when I played baseball. I say I'll do 10 minutes twice a day while watching t.v.

-Cut out beer. All I drink for the most part is water and beer/liquor. I rarely ever drink soda. Usually I have 2-3 beers a day. More on weekends. I estimate on weekends I drink 6-12 beers a day. This will be my biggest challenge but I'm really motivated. I think I'll replace it with vodka or something, but I really need to cut back. I might not drink at all during the week.

-I don't own a basketball but my other cousin will let me borrow one for the challenge. There is a park up the street from my house. I'll try to make it there a few times a week and shoot around for 20 minutes. I need to improve my dribbling. I'm not too worried about my jump shot. It sucks, but I can get to the rim anytime I want against my cousin(in fact I did yesterday) but I just need more energy. Before I played 5 minutes I was dog tired. This caused me to miss a lot of lay ups and not fight for some rebounds. Hopefully getting active will help me shed about 10 lbs. Any more than that and I will be ecstatic.

Also I have a twin brother who is basically in the same shape. He lost yesterday too(7-0). I did score one point. So we'll be training together. I think this is a big advantage.

I'm thinking about coming here and posting every 3 days or so, maybe updated weight(if I lose any) and other observations. My cousin said some real [censored] things and really pissed me off. He sorta woke a sleeping giant. I'm just gonna use this as a catalyst to get in shape, something I need to do anyway.

I did have a question. I do plan on joining a gym in the next few months and lifting weights to bulk up some. Will taking on a cardio regimen for a month seriously impact that? I'm not trying to be a body builder, but I do want to get more muscle and less fat.

Any other questions, suggestions, requests etc. are welcome!

[kidcolin]

Hero,

I'm mostly on a "basketball fitness" routine. I have some jump shot drills I do (around the world from 2/5/8/15/18/20 feet), some tip in drills, and some jumping stuff (like, 20 straight lay ups off of 2 feet, jumping as high as possible). I warm up with a few sets of coast to coast lay ups.

I end every session with suicides. I've only been on this for 2 weeks and I manage 2 suicides before dying. This week I'm doing 3.

Seriously do suicides.

Other people can answer about the weight training/muscle stuff. fwiw, doing this 4 times a week in addition to eating right has led me to lose 4 lbs in two weeks. I also go for a 2 mile run every 4 or 5 days.

[Thremp]

Do squats.

[ThaHero]

I totally forgot about suicides. Thanks! I remember doing those in junior high and high school tryouts.

I didn't mention much about my eating habits, so really quickly: I'm living with my parents right now while I try to get back in school. I basically eat whatever my mom makes. My dad just had a heart attack so she cooks pretty healthy for dinner. Lunch I usually have a hot pocket or lean pocket. In between I have a few Sun Chips. I need to eat more fruit. Breakfast is my worst. I'll eat Eggo Waffles or Pancake n Sausage sticks. With syrup. I need to cut this stuff out and replace it with something. Maybe oatmeal.

Also, my cousin isn't that good. He can't dribble with his left and he isn't faster or stronger than me so he can't drive or post up. He basically can only set up for jumpers. His jumper isn't that good either. His defense is terrible and he fouls all the time. Everytime I did a pump fake yesterday I got him in the air. I definately have a better BBall IQ than him.

I really just need to get in shape enough to play a full game(or maybe 2 if he wants a rematch) and work on my layups and close jump shots. I already have good defense. I think this is totally doable and I should probably be favored to win this. I'll also be doing some agility drills as well.

We'll also be playing softball at this event. I'm gonna try to get in shape for that as well(long toss, playing catch), but I don't expect it will help me lose weight all that much or help me with this challenge.

4 lbs in two weeks, pretty good! As I said my main goal is conditioning. If I lose weight that's awesome. I just don't want my heart/lungs to hurt anymore when I'm playing.

[HoyaSaxa123]

[ QUOTE ]
Do squats.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wasn't it you yesterday complaining about another's reading comprehension?

[HoyaSaxa123]

Working on your game is more important than any cardio/other exercise, especially if you are only playing a game or two.

Go down to the park nearby and practice the fundamentals as often as you can. If you work at this hard, it will also help improve your conditioning.

One note about the stretching you plan on doing while watching TV...it probably isn't worth it. Before going down to the park, look up "dynamic stretching" in a search engine. Use a few of the exercises you find prior to playing, and then after as well. The best time to also do static stretching would probably be after you get done with your practicing.

Hope this helps.

[ThaHero]

Thanks for the input.

After making this post I did do a search on basic bball stuff. After reading a few things, I realized that running/elliptical probably wouldn't be all that necessary. Wind sprints and other drills would be good, so I'm probably not gonna run for 30 mins a day anymore. I'll probably just go to the park and work on my game, and on days I don't feel like working on it I'll do some dribbling drills at home.

It's not like I'm gonna be playing multiple games with college athletes. Part of the running was just to get in shape period, but as you said, just working on my game will help conditioning, etc. My biggest problem areas are a lack of a jumper and dribbling. I used to dribble well so I should pick that back up fairly quickly. My defense has always been great but I'll work at it a bit anyway.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the input.

After making this post I did do a search on basic bball stuff. After reading a few things, I realized that running/elliptical probably wouldn't be all that necessary. Wind sprints and other drills would be good, so I'm probably not gonna run for 30 mins a day anymore. I'll probably just go to the park and work on my game, and on days I don't feel like working on it I'll do some dribbling drills at home.

It's not like I'm gonna be playing multiple games with college athletes. Part of the running was just to get in shape period, but as you said, just working on my game will help conditioning, etc. My biggest problem areas are a lack of a jumper and dribbling. I used to dribble well so I should pick that back up fairly quickly. My defense has always been great but I'll work at it a bit anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

2 weeks, I say that you should just do drills, but 4 weeks is probably enough to develop some noticeable cardiovascular health. Run a lot, work on drills a lot.

[shemp]

It is decades ago, but we talked about "basketball shape" and running didn't seem to provide much there. I think ideally you'd work on skills and play games-- get hot and bothered -- and then tack ladders and sprints on at the end.

[Rootabager]

You need to just play basketball. When we were doing high school basketball conditioning we would run a bunch of suicides each day. We would increase the number and eventually did like 30 in 30 minutes or something like that. Well i could run a million suicides without getting tired, but when we started actual practice I was still tired as hell.

The best way to get into shape is to just go out and play. Go to some playgrounds and shoot around alot until your shot comes back to you. It wont take very long. If you had a shot once you can get it back pretty quick.

Then just get into some games so you are running around the court alot.

One on One basketball can take alot out of you if you are not in good shape though.

Really just get out there and play. That's the best way to get into shape for anything. You dont need eliptical or anything like that.